PERSONAL  NARRATIVES 


OP   EVENTS  IN   THE 


War  of  the  Rebellion, 

BEING  PAPERS  HEAD  BEFORE  THE 

RHODE  ISLAND  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

No.  2.  .  .  .  Second  Series. 


PROVIDENCE : 

N.    BANGS     WILLIAMS     4     CO. 

1880. 


Copyrighted  by 

N.     BANGS    WILLIAMS. 

1880. 


A  COUNTRY  BOY  S 


II 


BY  C.  HENRY  BARNEY, 

[FORMERLY  CORFORAL  FIFTH  BATTALION  RHODE  ISLAND  VOLUNTEERS.] 


PROVIDENCE  : 

N.     BANGS     WILLIAMS     &     CO. 

1880. 


Copyrighted  by 

N.     BANGS    WILLIAMS. 

1880. 


A  COUNTRY  BOY  S 

FIRST  THREE  MONTHS  IN  THE  ARMY. 

December  14, 1861— March  14, 1862. 


[Read  before  the  Society,  Dec.  11,  1878.] 


Seventeen  years  ago  next  Saturday  morning,  or 
between  one  and  two  o'clock  A.  M.  on  the  fourteenth 
of  December,  1861,  a  "solitary"  pedestrian  "might 
have  been  seen"  trudging  along  homeward  upon  the 
track  of  the  Bristol  railroad,  just  below  what  is  now 
called  Silver  Spring.  He  was  but  a  simple  country 
lad  of  seventeen,  and  had  not  been  engaged  in  any 
midnight  raid  upon  unprotected  hen-roosts,  nor  in- 
dulging in  any  worse  dissipation  than  attending  a 
party  of  young  people  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor 
some  two  miles  distant.  As  he  walked  along — rumi- 
nating perhaps  on  the  bright  eyes  and  rosy  cheeks 
of  the  substantial  damsels  who  had  been  his  com- 


f% 


6  A    COUNTRY    BOY'S 

panions  in  the  games  of  the  evening,  perhaps  think- 
ing what  a  foolish  thing  it  was  to  take  an  extra  mile's 
walk  to  escort  home  the  best  girl  living  on  such 
a  cold  winter  night — he  discovered  a  figure  ap- 
proaching upon  the  track  from  the  opposite  direction 
to  that  in  which  he  was  himself  moving. 

Travellers  on  that  road  at  that  time  of  morning 
were  not  numerous,  and  as  the  stranger  rapidly  ap- 
proached, I  noticed  (for  it  is  time  to  drop  the  third 
person  and  to  say  that  the  country  lad  and  the  au- 
thor of  this  sketch  are  identical)  that  he  wore  the 
"  blue  great-coat "  and  forage  cap  of  the  Union 
soldier,  and  as  we  were  passing  each  other,  I  recog- 
nized to  my  surprise,  a  former  schoolmate  at  the 
Arnold  Street  school  in  Providence. 

"  Halloa  !  Tom,  is  that  you  ?  what  are  you  doing 
here  and  in  that  dress  ?"  I  inquired,  and  was  in- 
formed that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Fifth  Rhode 
Island  Battalion,  then  encamped  on  Dexter  Training 
Ground,  to  which  place  he  was  returning  from  a  visit 
to  friends  in  Bristol.  His  pass  expiring  in  the  morn- 
ing too  soon  for  the  trains,  which  in  those  days  did 
not  run  so  early  as  at  present,  he  had  decided  to 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS    IN    THE    ARMY.  7 

walk  to  the  city,  aDd  thus  gain  an  additional  evening 
in  the  company  of  his  friends. 

We  stood  talking  nearly  a  half-hour  in  the  moon- 
light, unmindful  of  the  cold,  I  eagerly  inquiring  as  to 
the  details  of  his  life  in  camp,  etc.,  and  he  willingly 
giving  me  the  desired  information.  The  result  of 
our  conversation  was,  that  when  we  parted  to  go  our 
individual  ways,  there  was  a  fixed  determination  in 
my  mind  that  another  day  should  not  pass  ere  my 
name  should  be  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Fifth  or 
Burnside  Battalion. 

I  mention  this  circumstance  to  show  how  the  acci- 
dental meeting  with  my  former  schoolmate  finally 
decided  the  time  and  manner  of  my  enlistment,  and 
changed  the  whole  current  of  my  life.  From  the 
first  call  for  troops  to  the  time  of  which  I  write,  I 
had  been  anxious  to  enlist,  had  twice  already  in- 
scribed my  name  upon  the  enlistment  roll,  but  each 
time,  for  lack  of  the  parental  certificate  of  consent, 
it  had  been  removed.  I  had  but  lately  returned 
from  a  two  months'  sojourn  in  Boston,  and  since  my 
arrival  home  had  not  exhibited  any  symptoms  of  my 
former  restlessness,  and  although  several  young  men 


8  A    COUXTRY   BOY'S 

of  our  neighborhood  and  comrades  in  the  "  Barring- 
ton  Guards,"  had  enlisted  in  the  Fifth,  I  had  shown 
no  desire  to  join  them,  and  I  presume,  my  friends 
congratulated  themselves  that  I  was  cured  of  the 
"  war  fever."  But  the  chance  meeting  with  my 
friend  had  brought  on  a  relapse  of  the  disease,  and 
it  was  now  raging  fiercer  than  ever  before. 

But  to  cut  short  this  personal  narrative,  I  left 
home  the  next  morning  for  Providence,  without  saying 
a  word  to  any  one  of  my -intention  to  enlist,  and  that 
night  I  slept  in  a  Sibley  tent  on  the  Dexter  Training 
Ground,  duly  enrolled  as  a  member  of  Capt.  Jonathan 
M.  Wheeler's  Company  "  A,"  Fifth  Battalion  Rhode 
Island  Volunteers.  Recruits  were  harder  to  obtain 
than  in  the  spring  and  summer,  so  by  a  little  finesse 
and  by  assuring  the  recruiting  officer  that  there 
would  be  no  trouble,  I  induced  him  to  waive  the 
proper  certificate  of  consent  required  in  case  of  the 
enlistment  of  a  minor,  and  now  that  I  was  clad  from 
top  to  toe  in  the  livery  of  Uncle  Sam,  I  felt  that  the 
rubicon  was  indeed  passed,  and  there  could  be  no 
receding  from  the  step  which  I  had  taken. 

Judge  then,  of  my  dismay,  when,  about  noon  of  the 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  it 

second  day  in  camp,  I  saw  my  father  standing  at  the 
head  of  our  company  street  in  conversation  with  the 
lieutenant  commanding  our  company.  As  I  did  not 
return  home  on  Saturday  afternoon,  a  search  had 
been  instituted,  and  my  whereabouts  easily  discov- 
ered. What  passed  between  my  father  and  the  lieu- 
tenant, I  do  not  know.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  per- 
haps thinking  it  best  to  let  matters  take  their  course 
now  that  they  had  gone  so  far,  he  finally  gave  his 
consent  to  my  enlistment,  and  with  much  good  ad- 
vice as  to  the  care  of  my  health  and  morals,  bade  me 
God-speed. 

And  now  to  speak  of  the  organization  of  which  I 
was  to  form  a  part.  Recruiting  for  the  Fifth  Rhode 
Island  or  "Burnside  Battalion,"  as  it  was  at  first  more 
generally  called,  was  commenced  in  October,  1861, 
under  authority  received  by  General  Burnside  from 
the  War  Department,  the  intention  being  ultimately  to 
fill  it  up  to  a  full  regiment.  The  recruiting  posters 
announced  that  the  "  Burnside  Battalion  "  was  to  be 
used  exclusively  for  coast  service,  no  long  and  fa- 
tiguing marches  were  to  be  endured,  it  was  to  be 
armed  with  short   "  English  Rifles  "  and    "  French 


10  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

Boarding  Swords."  To  judge  from  these  advertise- 
ments, the  battalion  was  to  have  what  would  now- 
a-days  be  termed  "  a  soft  thiug."  To  anticipate 
a  little,  we  found,  however,  that  there  were  some 
"  outs  "  even  in  the  "  coast  service,"  and  as  for 
marches,  we  generally  had  to  go  about  where  we 
were  told  to,  and  that  was  apt  to  be  just  as  far,  for 
aught  we  could  discover,  as  troops  enlisted  under 
less  promising  auspices. 

As  I  stated  before,  recruits  were  not  as  enthusi- 
astic in  the  fall,  as  during  the  earlier  months  of  the 
war,  and  as  the  State  offered  as  yet  only  fifteen  dol- 
lars bounty,  recruiting  was,  generally  speaking, 
rather  slow.  Yet,  such  were  the  superior  induce- 
ments offered  by  this  battalion,  that  in  seven  weeks 
five  companies  had  been  filled,  and  the  men  transfer- 
red from  "  Camp  Greene  (where  the  first  companies 
went  under  canvas),  to  "  Camp  Slocum  "  on  the  Dex- 
ter Training  Ground.  At  the  time  of  my  enlistment, 
there  was  some  snow  upon  the  ground,  and  the 
weather  colder  than  we  have  had  it  so  far  this  month, 
yet  in  our  floored  Sibley  tents,  each  of  which  was 
provided   with  a  sheet-iron    camp  stove,  generally 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS    IN    THE    ARMY.  11 

kept  at  a  red  heat,  we  managed  to  keep  exceedingly 
comfortable. 

Drilling  was  practiced  whenever  the  weather 
would  permit,  with  dress  parades  at  evening. 

The  armament  of  the  battalion  differed  from  that 
of  any  Rhode  Island  regiment  previously  sent  out. 
We  were  armed  with  the  short  Enfield  rifles,  calibre 
.577,  with  heavy  sabre  bayonets,  (the  "  French 
Boarding  Swords  "  of  the  recruiting  posters).  Al- 
though they  presented  an  imposing  show  when  fixed, 
in  the  sunlight,  these  bayonets  made  the  pieces  top- 
heavy  and  more  awkward  to  handle  than  the  or- 
dinary kind,  not  being  so  well  balanced.  After  we 
had  been  in  service  some  eight  months,  these  arms 
were  exchanged  for  the  long  Enfields  and  com- 
mon triangular  bayonets. 

Our  organization  at  date  of  muster-in,  consisted 
of  five  companies,  and  the  roster  of  officers  was  as 
follows : 

Major — John  Wright. 
Adjutant — Charles  H.  Chapman. 
Quartermaster — Munro  H.  Gladding. 
Assistant  Surgeon — Albert  Potter. 


12  A   COUNTRY   BOY'S 

Chaplain— Mc  Walter  B.  Noyes. 

Sergeant-Major — Joseph  C.  Hatlinger. 

Quartermaster-Sergeant — William  W.  Prouty. 

Commissary- Sergeant — Charles  B.  Beers. 

Hospital  Steward — Charles  F.  Gladding. 

Co.  A — Captain,  Jonathan  M.  Wheeler;  First  Lieutenant,  Dan- 
iel S.  Remington;  Second  Lieutenant,  vacant. 

Co.  B — Captain,  Allen  G.  Wright;  First  Lieutenant,  William 
W.  Hall;  Second  Lieutenant,  AVilliam  W.  Douglas. 

Co.  C— Captain,  James  M.  Eddy;  First  Lieutenant,  John  E. 
Snow;  Second  Lieutenant,  George  G.  Hopkins. 

Co.  D — Captain,  George  H.  Grant;  First  Lieutenant,  Henry  R. 
Pierce;  Second  Lieutenant,  James  Moran. 

Co.  E — Captain,  Job  Arnold;  First  Lieutenant,  vacant;  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant,  James  M.  Wheaton. 

On  the  morning  of  Friday,  December  twenty-sev- 
enth, we  received  orders  to  prepare  to  break  camp. 
Soon  after  twelve  o'clock,  noon,  the  tents  were  struck, 
and  about  half  past  two  o'clock  the  battalion  line  was 
formed  and  after  a  review  by  Governor  Sprague,  the 
march  was  taken  up  for  the  depot.  The  clouds  had 
been  gathering  rapidly  since  noon,  and  as  we  left  the 
Training  Ground,  a  drizzling  rain  set  in.  In  spite  of 
this,  the  usual  crowd  filled  the  sidewalks  to  cheer 
our  departure.     Occasionally  some  spectator,  catch- 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  13 

ing  sight  of  a  friend  in  the  ranks,  would  step  out  and 
march  a  few  steps  by  his  side,  while  he  bade  him  a 
hasty  good-bye. 

As  we  were  marching  down  High  street,  near  the 
junction  of  Westminster,  a  classmate  of  the  High 
School  recognized  me  and  stepped  to  my  side.  "Do 
you  belong  to  this  regiment?"  said  he,  "Don't  you 
hold  some  office?"  "Yes,"  I  replied,  "I  am  an  act- 
ing corporal."  "  Well,  I  thought  you  were  some- 
thing more  than  a  private,"  said  he.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  no  corporals  had  yet  been  appointed  in  our  com- 
pany, which  was  the  last  one  organized,  although 
our  captain  happened  to  draw  the  letter  A  and  the 
right  of  line.  Eight  of  us  had  been  selected  to  act 
in  the  capacity  of  corporals  and  were  on  probation, 
so  to  speak. 

At  about  half  past  four  o'clock  our  long  train  was 
off  for  Groton,  (at  that  time  the  terminus  of  the 
Stonington  line  of  steamers).  I  remember  every 
detail  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday.  In  the  seat 
with  me  sat  a  young  Irish-American  boy  of  about 
my  own  age,  whose  parents  stood  beside  the  car 
window  to  bid  adieu  to  their  only  son.     As  the  train 


14  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

started  he  bade  them  a  cheerful  good-bye,  leaned 
from  the  window  and  watched  them  standing  on  the 
platform  until  they  were  hidden  by  a  curve  in  the 
track,  then  sinking  back  into  his  seat,  he  burst  into 
tears.  I  exerted  myself  to  comfort  him,  and  pictured 
how  comparatively  soon  he  would  return  and  how 
proud  his  parents  would  be  of  him  when  he  should 
come  home,  perhaps  an  officer.  "  You  are  very 
kind,"  said  he,  "  but  I  know  that  I  have  seen  my  fa- 
ther and  mother  for  the  last  time  on  earth."  Poor 
fellow,  his  words  proved  prophetic;  for  against  his 
name  on  the  muster-out  roll  of  Company  A  ap- 
pear the  words,  "Died  at  Andersonville,  Georgia, 
September,  1864." 

At  Groton,  we  were  transferred  to  the  steamer 
Commonwealth,  which  should  have  started  at  half  past 
nine,  but  being  aground,  did  not  got  off  until  about 
one  o'clock,  and  were  landed  directly  at  Jersey  City 
at  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning.  From  there  our 
route  was  by  rail  to  Philadelphia,  thence  to  Balti- 
more, and  thence  to  Annapolis,  at  which  latter  place 
we  arrived  about  seven  o'clock  Sunday  evening. 
While  on  the  road  from  Philadelphia  to   Baltimore, 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  15 

our  captain  came  through  the  car  and  laying  his 
hand  on  my  shoulder,  said :  "  Corporal,  I  guess  you 
had  better  put  those  stripes  on  now,"  meaning  that 
he  had  decided  to  appoint  me  to  the  position.  I 
thanked  him,  but  as  it  was  impossible  to  follow  out 
his  suggestion  literally  while  on  the  train,  I  had  to 
content  myself  with  putting  on  airs  instead. 

Upon  disembarking  from  the  cars  at  Annapolis, 
we  found  ourselves  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  embank- 
ment, up  which  we  were  marched  into  the  grounds 
of  the  Naval  Academy,  the  school  itself  having  been 
transferred  to  Newport  for  the  time  being.  As  we 
saw  the  next  morning,  it  was  a  delightful  camping 
ground,  and  commanded  a  full  view  of  the  harbor 
and  all  the  vessels  assembled  to  take  part  in  the 
Burnside  Expedition.  All  this  the  daylight  revealed, 
but  at  the  time  of  our  arrival  it  was  too  dark  to  see 
anything,  so  while  a  part  of  the  men  were  pitching 
our  tents  as  near  to  where  they  ought  to  be  as  pos- 
sible, the  remainder  were  bringing  the  company  and 
regimental  property  up  the  bank,  until  finally  all  was 
moved  and  we  turned  in  and  slept  soundly,  for  the 
first  time  upon  the  bare  ground.     A  few  hours  work 


16  A   COUNTRY   BOY'S 

next  day  straightened  the  lines  of  our  companj- 
streets,  and  put  the  camp  in  perfect  order. 

On  the  third  of  January,  we  were  gladdened  by 
the  sight  of  the  Fourth  Rhode  Island  Regiment,  just 
arrived  from  Washington,  which  marched  into  the 
grounds  and  established  camp  near  us.  A  letter 
by  me  at  that  time  says,  "  We  expect  the  Second 
Rhode  Island  here  in  a  few  days."  This  was  camp 
rumor  whether  it  was  ever  really  contemplated  by 
the  authorities  for  the  Second  to  take  part  in  our  ex- 
pedition, I  do  not  know. 

The  Burnside  Expedition  as  finally  organized, 
comprised  a  division  of  three  brigades,  commanded 
respectively  by  Brigadier  Generals  Foster,  Reno 
and  Parke.  Tke  brigade  of  the  latter,  numbered 
the  Third,  consisted  of  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  Rhode 
Island  and  the  Eighth  and  Eleventh  Connecticut 
regiments. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  January  we  struck  tents  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  embarking  on  two 
small  steamboats  were  speedily  transferred  to  the 
ship  Kitty  Simpson,  which  formed  a  part  of  the 
transport   fleet,  and  on  the  following   morning  we 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  17 

started  down  the  Chesapeake,  in  tow  of  a  tug,  our 
destination  unknown.  Here  we  were  served  with 
rations  of  hard-bread  and  raw  salt  pork  cut  in  slices, 
and  we  began  to  feel  that  we  were  fast  getting  down 
to  the  stern  realities  of  a  soldier's  life. 

Of  course  you  will  perceive  that  this  kind  of  fare 
was  entirely  unnecessary  and  was  caused  by  the  in- 
experience of  the  officers,  who  a  few  months  later 
would  have  caused  a  sufficient  quantity  of  cooked 
rations  to  have  been  prepared  on  shore  and  taken  on 
board  with  us  to  last  until  the  cooks  should  have  got 
their  department  in  working  order  on  the  Kitty 
Simpson. 

When,  however,  matters  in  the  culinary  depart- 
ment became  fully  settled,  we  fared  well  enough,  and 
as  extra  luxuries,  were  treated  occasionally  to  a  ra- 
tion of  "  lob  scouse  "  and  to  a  dyspeptic  concoction 
denominated  "  duff."  I  am  not  quite  sure  of  the 
orthography  of  the  latter,  but  think  an  appropriate 
way  of  spelling  it  would  be  t-o-u-g-h,  d-o-u-g-h, 
"  tuff  duff  "  or  tough  dough — either  pronunciation 
would  suit  the  case. 

Leaving  Fortress  Monroe,  after  a  stormy  passage 


18  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

we  arrived  off  Hatteras  Inlet  on  the  thirteenth 
of  January.  Most  of  our  men  suffered  greatly  from 
sea-sickness.  As  it  was  found  that  our  ship  drew 
too  much  water  to  allow  her  to  pass  over  the  bar  into 
the  smooth  water  inside,  details  were  set  at  work  to 
lighten  the  ship  by  throwing  overboard  the  gravel 
which  formed  her  ballast.  Three  days'  work  light- 
ened us  two  and  one-half  feet,  and  in  the  tow  of  the 
propeller  Virginia  we  attempted  the  passage.  Ow- 
ing to  a  heavy  fog  which  came  up  suddenly,  or  to 
some  unexplained  cause,  the  pilot  of  the  Virginia 
varied  slightly  from  the  proper  channel,  and  just  as 
we  were  congratulating  ourselves  that  we  were  safe- 
ly over  and  should  soon  be  riding  at  anchor  with  the 
rest  of  the  fleet  which  had  preceded  us  into  the  in- 
let, a  sudden  grating,  then  a  shock,  told  that  we 
were  not  yet  out  of  danger.  A  second  shock,  harder 
than  the  first,  and  the  hawser  from  us  to  the  pro- 
peller parted  with  the  sudden  strain,  and  the  Virgin- 
ia, shouting  back  the  advice  to  let  go  our  anchor, 
disappeared  in  the  fog,  and  we  saw  her  no  more 
that  day. 

Our  situation  was  now  anything  but  pleasant,  with 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS    IN    THE    ARMY.  19 

a  probability  that  it  might  prove  extremely  perilous. 
We  lay  upon  a  sandy  bottom,  but  the  motion  of  the 
ground  swell  caused  the  ship  to  rise  and  fall  every 
minute,  keeping  up  a  continual  pounding.  As  we 
would  strike  solidly  it  seemed  as  if  the  masts  would 
be  driven  through  the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  and  all  the 
standing  rigging  would  slacken  up  and  hang  loosely 
from  the  masts ;  then  as  we  rose  again,  it  would  re- 
sume its  usual  taut  position.  When  we  first  struck 
it  was  a  dead  calm,  with  the  exception  of  the  ground 
swell,  but  very  soon  the  wind  commenced  to  rise 
and  blew  away  the  fog,  and  about  a  pistol-shot  on 
our  port-bow  we  could  see  the  bare  timbers  of  one 
of  the  fleet,  which  two  days  before  attempted  to 
enter  the  inlet  with  a  load  of  horses.  Her  bones  now 
lay  upon  a  reef  of  rocks,  and  should  the  wind  shift 
before  our  ship  could  be  gotten  off,  and  the  wind  is 
liable  to  shift  half  a  dozen  times  a  day  at  Hatteras, 
nothing  could  prevent  our  going  to  pieces  on  the 
same  place.  As  the  violence  of  the  wind  and  waves 
increased,  the  thumping  of  our  ship  increased  also, 
until  loosened  from  their  fastenings  by  the  tremen- 
dous strain,  the  top-sail  yards  began  to  tumble  upon 


20  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

deck,  causing  several  narrow  escapes  before  the  men 
could  get  below  out  of  the  way. 

It  began  to  look  as  though  there  were  more  desir- 
able branches  of  service  than  the  "  Coast  Division." 
About  four  o'clock  we  espied  a  steamer  coming  out 
from  the  inlet  toward  us.  She  proved  to  be  the 
steamer  Eagle,  formerly  a  New  York  ferry  boat. 
As  she  came  alongside,  Lieutenant  D.  A.  Pell,  of 
General  Burnside's  staff,  stood  on  the  hurricane  deck 
with  the  captain  of  the  steamer.  As  the  Eagle 
crashed  against  our  starboard  quarter,  crushing  like 
an  egg-shell  the  ship's  boat  which  hung  there,  Lieu- 
tenant Pell  shouted  to  our  commanding  officer  that 
the  orders  of  General  Burnside  were  for  him  to  em- 
bark his  men  onboard  the  Eagle  and  leave  our  ship  to 
its  fate.  Before  he  had  finished  his  sentence  the 
steamer  was  at  least  thirty  feet  away  from  our  ship, 
and  as  the  next  wave  swept  her  again  to  our  side, 
two  soldiers  leaped  from  our  rail  toward  the  Eagle. 
One  reached  her  hurricane  deck,  the  other  fell  short, 
but  as  he  went  down  was  fortunate  enough  to 
catch  hold  of  a  fender  which  hung  over  her  side, 
and  by  means  of  a  rope   was  drawn   on  board. 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS    IN   THE    ARMY.  21 

In  common  with  most  of  our  men,  I  had  hurried  to 
the  side  of  the  Kitty  Simpson  next  the  steamer,  to 
see  what  was  going  to  be  done.  As  I  heard  the 
order  to  transfer  the  men  to  the  Eagle,  and  saw 
that  boat  tossed  about,  like  an  egg-shell,  by  the  vio- 
lence of  the  waves,  I  realized  the  impossibility  of 
safely  transferring  a  quarter  of  our  men  to  the 
steamer,  and  felt  that  the  attempt  would  be  madness. 

But  Major  Wright  was  equal  to  the  emergency. 
Jumping  upon  the  rail,  he  commanded,  in  a  voice 
above  the  tempest  and  confusion,  that  not  a  man 
should  attempt  to  leave  our  ship  until  orders  should 
be  given  by  himself.  The  narrow  escape  from  death 
of  the  soldier  I  have  mentioned,  was  a  powerful  ar- 
gument in  favor  of  obedience,  and  no  more  men 
jumped.  Then  ensued  a  short  and  sharp  colloquy 
between  our  major  and  the  captain  of  the  ferry- 
boat, the  former  desiring  that  the  latter  should  take 
our  line  and  attempt  to  pull  us  off,  believing  that 
aided  by  the  frequent  lifting  of  our  craft  by  the 
heavy  sea,  the  attempt  might  be  successful.  "  It  is 
of  no  use,"  said  the  captain,  "  there  is  not  power 
enough  in  my  engine  to  pull  you  off;  the  most  I  can 


22  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

do  is  to  save  your  men,  before  it  is  too  late."  But 
the  major  insisted  with  language  too  emphatic  to  re- 
peat here,  and  finally  the  captain  agreed  to  make 
the  attempt.  With  what  eagerness  we  watched  the 
attaching  of  the  hawser,  and  as  the  steamer  started 
her  wheels  and  the  line  began  to  draw,  I  am  sure 
many  prayers  went  up  from  hearts  unused  to  prayer, 
that  the  attempt  might  be  successful.  Tighter  and 
tighter  grows  the  rope,  we  seem  to  be  moving,  no — 
it  is  but  imagination,  for  we  strike  again  as  solid  as 
ever,  and,  with  a  loud  report,  the  tow-line  snaps  in 
twain  and  falls  into  the  seething  waters. 

But  the  attempt  is  not  to  be  abandoned,  for  an 
extra  large  hawser,  which  has  lain  coiled  between 
decks  all  the  voyage,  is  gotten  up,  one  end  passed 
to  the  Eagle  and  the  other  made  fast  to  our  vessel. 
"  That  line  will  never  part,"  says  Mr.  Fox,  the  first 
mate,  "  it  will  pull  the  bitts  out  of  the  ship  first." 
Again  the  steamer  starts  ahead,  with  her  engines 
crowded  to  their  utmost  capacity,  and  this  time, — 
hurrah  !  off  we  slide,  and  before  we  hardly  realize 
it  we  are  in  deep  water  and  in  ten  minutes  more 
with   the    rest   of  our   fleet,   the    troops   on    which 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  23 

have  been  watching  us  ever  since  the  fog  lifted, 
and  now  greet  us  with  hearty  cheers  as  we  pass. 
It  was  fortunate  for  us  that  we  worked  off  the  bar 
as  we  did,  for  about  eleven  o'clock  that  night  came 
the  change  in  the  wind  which  would  have  sealed  our 
doom  in  a  very  few  minutes.  As  the  result  of  the 
strain  she  had  undergone,  the  Kitty  Simpson  was 
adjudged  too  much  damaged  to  be  sent  to  sea  again, 
and  after  our  battalion  left  her  she  was  used  as  a 
store-ship,  at  Hatteras,  and  was  finally,  I  believe, 
beached  and  broken  up  there.  -^^^^ 

Now  that  our  fleet  was  all  inside  the  outer  bar      ""^"> 
there  remained  an  inner  bar,  called  "  the  swash,"  to  / 

be  crossed  before  the  expedition  could  advance  up  / 
the  sound.  Many  of  the  vessels,  our  own  among  the 
number,  were  too  deep  in  the  water  to  be  taken  over 
the  new  obstacle,  and  some  three  weeks  time  was 
consumed  in  sending  to  New  York  for  smaller  craft, 
and  in  transferring  the  troops. 

January  thirty-first  the  Fifth  Battalion  was  placed 
on  board  the  iron  side-wheel  steamer  S.  R.  Spauld- 
ing  (formerly  running  between  Providence  and 
Baltimore),  a   much   larger   vessel   than   the  Kitty 


24  A   COUNTRY   BOY'S 

Simpson,  but  of  less  draft.  The  Spaulding  was  the 
headquarters  of  General  Burnside,  and  could  have 
easily  furnished  transportation  for  a  command  three 
times  the  size  of  our  own.  We  had  been  on  the 
Simpson  twenty-three  days  and  we  left  her  without 
regret.  When  we  first  went  on  board  at  Annapolis 
we  were  pleased  with  the  apparent  cleanliness  of  our 
quarters,  everything  between  decks  having  been 
freshly  painted  and  everything  looking  as  neat  as  a 
pin.  We  did  not  know  until  afterward,  that  previous 
to  her  charter  by  the  government  as  a  transport  she 
had  made  one  or  more  voyages  in  the  coolie  trade. 
The  consequences  to  us  it  is  not  necessary  to  detail 
here ;  suffice  it  to  say,  the  battalion  saw  more  skir- 
mishing with  gray -backs  while  on  board  the  Kitty 
Simpson,  than  it  ever  did  in  the  same  length  of 
time  after  getting  on  shore. 

February  fifth,  everything  being  at  last  in  readi- 
ness, we  weighed  anchor  and  the  fleet  started  slow- 
ly up  the  sound,  the  gun-boats  in  advance.  Fog  and 
other  causes  delayed  us  so  that  we  did  not  arrive  in 
sight  of  Roanoke  Island  till  Friday,  the  seventh, 
shortly  before  noon.     As  soon  as  the  gun-boats  came 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  25 

within  range  the  main  battery  of  the  enemy,  Fort 
Bartow,  opened  fire  upon  them,  which  was  immedi- 
ately returned.  This  was  kept  up  during  the  whole 
afternoon,  the  only  apparent  result  being  the  setting 
on  fire  of  the  wooden  barracks  inside  the  battery. 
The  transports  lay  some  distance  below  the  scene  of 
the  conflict,  our  steamer  being  about  opposite  the 
point  where  the  troops  were  afterward  landed. 
About  three  o'clock  a  boats  crew  from  our  bat- 
talion, in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Andrew,  Ninth  New 
York  Volunteers,  acting  aide  to  General  Burnside, 
was  sent  in  near  shore  to  take  soundings  and  ascertain 
how  near  our  transports  could  run  in  for  the  purpose 
of  landing  the  troops.  I  afterward  learned  from 
one  of  the  men  that  they  had  accomplished  their 
mission  successfully,  when  the  lieutenant  decided 
to  land  and  reconnoitre  a  little  as  there  ap- 
peared to  be  no  enemy  in  sight.  But  hardly  had 
they  set  foot  on  shore  when  a  dozen  or  more  gray- 
coats  rose  out  of  the  tall  grass  growing  on  the  bank, 
and  saluted  them  with  a  shower  of  bullets,  which  for- 
tunately hit  no   one.     Hastily   tumbling   back  into 


26  A    COUNTRY    BOY'S 

their  boat,  they  pulled  out  of  range  as  quickly  as 
possible,  but  not  until  the  enemy  had  given  them 
a  second  round,  this  time  with  more  effect.  Private 
Charles  A.  Viall,  Company  E,  of  the  Fifth,  was 
struck  in  the  mouth  by  a  ball  which  took  its  course 
along  his  lower  jaw-bone,  being  afterward  extracted 
under  the  ear.  The  clothing  of  several  of  the  men 
was  struck,  and  one  bullet  shattered  the  blade  of  one 
of  the  oars.  This  affair  gave  the  Fifth  Rhode  Island 
a  claim  to  "  first  blood  "  in  the  Burnside  Expedition. 
Meanwhile  the  affair  had  been  seen  from  the  Spauld- 
ing,  and  a  gun-boat  being  signaled,  ran  down  and 
threw  a  few  shells  into  the  vicinity  of  the  scrim- 
mage, and  remained  there  to  cover  the  landing  of 
the  troops. 

Preparations  for  the  landing  were  made  without 
waiting  for  the  return  of  the  rowboat.  Our  men 
were  transferred  to  large  launches  which  would  hold 
nearly  a  company,  a  string  of  ten  or  twelve  of  these 
were  taken  in  tow  by  a  tug,  and  in  this  way  the 
landing  was  made.  Some  of  the  smaller  steamers 
ran  up  to  the  shore  and  the  troops  landed  direct- 
ly  from   their   decks.      The    Union,   a   stern-wheel 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS    IN    THE    ARMY.  27 

steamer  of  very  light  draft,  and  nick-named  by  the 
boys  the  "  wheel-barrow,"  rendered  excellent  ser- 
vice here,  as  well  as  afterward  at  Newbern,  in  land- 
ing the  troops.  Our  battalion  was  all  ashore  an  hour 
before  sunset,  but  some  of  the  troops  were  not  land- 
ed until  very  late  in  the  evening. 

That  night  we  bivouacked  in  a  muddy  corn  field, 
without  shelter  of  any  kind.  Soon  after  dark  it  com- 
menced to  rain,  and  being  as  yet  "  greenhorns,"  our 
situation  was  thoroughly  uncomfortable.  Sleep 
there  was  none.  Early  the  next  morning  we  were 
on  the  march  for  the  field  where  occurred  the  battle 
of  Eoanoke  Island.  I  shall  not,  of  course,  attempt 
a  detailed  account  of  the  battle,  for  that  is  a  matter 
of  history,  and  personally  I  saw  but  little  of  it.  I 
will  only  refer  to  a  few  of  its  principal  features. 

The  battery  of  the  rebels  was  upon  a  narrow  neck 
which  connected  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the 
Island,  and  commanded  a  corduroy  road  only  wide 
enough  for  four  or  five  men  to  march  abreast,  which 
road  was  built  through  a  morass  stretching  right  and 
left  from  the  battery  to  either  shore  of  the  island. 
This  morass  was  believed  by  the  enemy  to  be  im- 


28  A   COUNTRY   BOY'S 

passable  for  troops,  and  in  order  to  give  full  effect 
to  their  artillery,  the  trees  had  been  felled  in  front 
and  for  some  distance  on  each  flank,  and  left  lying  so 
as  to  form  an  effective  abattis.  From  the  nature  of 
the  ground  only  a  small  portion  of  our  force  could  be 
engaged  at  a  time.  Our  only  artillery  was  a  battery 
of  six  boat  howitzers,  manned  by  sailors.  The  turn- 
ing point  of  the  battle  was  the  flanking  of  the 
enemy'3  position  on  both  the  right  and  left  by  the 
passage  of  the  swampy  morass  by  our  men  in  the 
face  of  almost  insurmountable  difficulties.  As  soon 
as  the  Union  column  appeared  from  the  woods  on 
each  flank,  which  they  did  nearly  simultaneously, 
the  enemy  realized  their  defeat,  and  abandoning 
their  works,  fled  toward  the  north  end  of  the  island. 
Being  rapidly  pursued  by  the  First  Brigade  under 
General  Foster,  the  greater  part  of  them  as  well  as 
the  garrisons  of  the  forts  on  the  upper  end  of  the 
island,  the  rear  approaches  to  which  were  now  left 
entirely  unprotected,  fell  into  our  hands  as  pris- 
oners, about  three  thousand  in  all.  Like  many 
of  the  regiments  of  the  division,  the  Fifth  Rhode 
Island    was   not   as    a   whole   directly     under    the 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  29 

enemy's  fire  during  the  engagement,  did  not  fire 
a  shot,  and  suffered  no  casualty,  except  the  case 
of  Private  Viall  before  mentioned.  During  the 
greater  part  of  the  engagement  it  was  stationed  in 
the  woods  to  the  north  and  east  of  the  landing  and 
just  to  the  left  of  the  battle-field.  For  about  half  an 
hour  the  battalion  was  exposed  to  a  most  severe  or- 
deal for  raw  troops,  being  placed  in  position  by  the 
side  of  a  road  leading  off  the  battle-field,  along 
which  a  constant  procession  of  wounded  were  being 
borne  to  the  rear. 

After  the  surrender,  the  troops  were  assigned 
positions  in  different  parts  of  the  island,  our  own 
battalion  remaining  two  or  three  days  doing  guard 
duty  around  the  hospital,  which  was  established  near 
the  landing  place  of  the  troops,  and  then  being  sent 
to  Fort  Bartow,  the  principal  battery  on  the  western 
front.  In  two  or  three  days  our  tents  and  baggage 
came  ashore  from  the  Spaulding  and  we  went  regu- 
larly into  the  routine  of  camp  duty. 

Among  the  officers  of  the  enemy  was  Captain  0. 
Jennings  Wise,  son  of  General  Henry  A.  Wise,  for- 
merly   Governor   of  Virginia.       Severely   wounded 


30  A    COUNTRY    BOY'S 

during  the  battle  of  the  seventh,  he  died  the  next 
day,  and  was  buried  by  the  Union  troops.  About  a 
fortnight  after,  a  small  side-wheel  rebel  steamer 
bearing  a  flag  of  truce,  came  down  the  sound  with  a 
request  for  his  remains,  which  was  granted.  I  hap- 
pened to  be  detailed  in  charge  of  a  squad  of  men 
which  conveyed  his  body  from  the  burial  ground  to 
the  shore  and  from  thence  in  a  rowboat  to  the  rebel 
steamer.  The  officer  of  the  day,  I  cannot  now  re- 
member who  it  was,  joined  us  at  the  boat  and  deliv- 
ered the  body  to  the  officers  of  the  steamer.  We 
stepped  on  board  the  rebel  boat,  but  were  allowed 
only  on  the  forward  deck  and  remained  but  a  short 
time. 

Our  life  during  the  few  weeks  we  were  at  Roanoke 
was  uneventful,  with  the  exception  of  an  expedition 
made  by  our  battalion  on  the  steamer  Union,  to  de- 
stroy some  salt-works  on  one  of  the  little  creeks 
leading  into  the  sound  above  us,  which  were  repre- 
sented as  turning  out  large  quantities  of  salt;  but 
which  we  found  not  to  be  worth  the  trouble  of  going 
after. 

The  monotony  of   camp-life  on  the  island  was  re- 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  31 

lieved  somewhat  by  the  manufacture  of  brier- wood 
pipes,  there  being  an  abundance  of  roots  suitable  for 
the  purpose.  Many  of  the  men  turned  out  articles 
which  were  very  creditable  specimens  of  carving, 
and  I  suppose  there  was  hardly  a  member  of  our  bat- 
talion who  did  not  make  one  or  more  of  these  pipes 
to  send  home  when  occasion  should  offer.  A  favor- 
ite amusement  of  my  own,  whenever  I  could  obtain 
a  pass,  was  to  explore  the  island,  searching  for  traces 
of,  and  speculating  upon  the  fate  of,  that  lost  colony, 
which  as  you  will  remember,  made  at  Roanoke  the 
first  English  settlement  in  America,  among  the 
members  of  which  were  the  parents  of  the  little 
Virginia  Dare,  the  first  babe  of  English  blood  to 
open  its  eyes  upon  American  soil. 

While  at  Roanoke  we  were  joined  by  Second  Lieu- 
tenant Levi  P.  Goodwin  and  First  Sergeant  Robert 
S.  Brownell  of  Company  A,  and  a  number  of  privates 
belonging  to  different  companies,  who  from  various 
causes  had  been  left  behind  us  in  Rhode  Island,  and 
whom  Brownell,  who  officiated  as  a  sort  of  Provost  Ser- 
geant while  we  were  at  Camp  Slocum,  had  been  left 
behind  to  pick  up.    With  Sergeant  Brownell  came  his 


32  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

wife,  Kady,  or  Katy  as  we  called  her  then,  one  of 
the  vivandieres  of  Company  H,  First  Regiment  Rhode 
Island  Detached  Militia.  She  enjoyed  the  freedom 
of  the  camp  in  a  sort  of  bloomer  costume,  more  ap- 
propriate to  the  wilds  of  Roanoke  than  to  the  streets 
of  Providence. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  we  were  not  to  remain 
long  idle,  and  preparations  having  been  going  on  for 
several  days  previous,  we  left  our  camp  on  Thursday, 
March  sixth,  and  with  all  our  belongings,  embarked 
on  board  the  steamers  Eagle  and  Curlew,  two  ex- 
New  York  ferry-boats.  My  company  (A)  was  in 
that  portion  of  the  battalion  assigned  to  the  Eagle, 
the  same  steamer  to  which  I  have  previously  re- 
ferred as  assisting  us  off  the  bar  at  Hatteras.  These 
boats  had  already  been  used  as  transports  and  were 
quite  well  adapted  for  that  purpose  on  inland  waters. 
The  two  saloons  or  cabins  on  either  side  were  closely 
filled  with  rough  board  bunks  several  tiers  high,  only 
narrow  passages  being  left  between  each  row,  while 
the  open  carriage  drives  of  former  days  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  boat  made  an  excellent  parade  and  drill 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  33 

ground,  and  the  cooks  occupied  one  end  of  the  boat 
for  their  operations. 

Tuesday  morning,  the  eleventh,  the  entire  fleet, 
with  the  gun-boats  in  advance,  started  for  Newbern, 
the  route  necessitating  a  return  to  Hatteras  and  from 
thence  up  the  Neuse  river  to  Newbern.  Wednes- 
day evening,  the  twelfth,  we  arrived  at  Slocum's 
creek,  about  eighteen  miles  below  the  city,  and  an- 
chored for  the  night.  1  have  seldom  witnessed  a  pret- 
tier sight  than  the  passage  of  the  fleet  up  the  Neuse 
river  during  that  afternoon.  The  river  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  distance  was  quite  broad,  and 
calm  as  a  mirror,  the  fleet  of  transports  sailed  in  two 
parallel  lines,  the  decks  of  every  vessel  being  appar- 
ently as  crowded  with  uniformed  men  as  are  the 
decks  of  our  summer  steamers  with  excursionists. 
The  weather  was  delightful,  and  the  constant  waving 
of  the  signal  flags  from  one  vessel  to  another  added 
life  and  brilliancy  to  the  scene. 

At  tattoo  an  order  was  read,  stating  that  we  were 
to  land  in  the  morning  in  light  marching  order, 
meaning  that  we  were  to  carry  only  rubber  and 
woolen  blankets  (rolled  and  worn  over  one's  shoul- 


34  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

der  like  a  sash),  haversacks  and  canteens,  and  sixty 
rounds  of  cartridges,  forty  in  the  boxes  and  twenty 
distributed  about  our  persons  at  convenience. 

In  accordance  with  these  instructions  the  landing 
was  made  the  next  morning  in  very  much  the  same 
style  as  at  Roanoke,  except  that  the  shore  was  less 
bold  and  the  boats  could  not  approach  so  closely  to 
the  beach  as  at  the  island.  The  men  of  the  different 
regiments  vied  with  each  other  in  being  the  first  to 
land,  and  as  fast  as  each  launch  grounded,  sixty  yards 
or  so  from  shore,  soldiers  leaped  into  the  water,  some 
up  to  their  knees,  some  above  their  waists,  and 
waded  ashore.  The  New  York  Herald,  I  think  it 
was,  gave  us  the  credit  of  being  the  first  regiment 
to  land,  but  Color  Sergeant  Poppie,  of  the  Fifty-first 
New  York,  was  the  first  man  on  shore,  and  as  he 
planted  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  cheer  after  cheer  went 
up  from  the  men  not  yet  landed.  A-s  soon  as  our 
battalion  was  all  ashore,  line  was  formed,  arms 
stacked,  and  we  sat  down  about  two  hours  to  wait 
the  landing  of  the  remainder  of  the  troops.  By  that 
time  it  was  noon,  and  the  clouds  which  had  threaten- 
ed rain  all  the  morning,  now  began  to  pour  down 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  35 

their  contents  as  we  took  up  the  line  of  march  tow- 
ard Newbern.  Our  road  lay  mostly  through  -a 
wooded  country,  interspersed  by  frequent  clearings, 
some  of  which  extended  to  the  river,  giving  us  an 
occasional  glimpse  of  the  gun-boats,  which  were  fol- 
lowing up  our  march,  keeping  nearly  abreast  of  the 
head  of  our  column. 

After  about  an  hour's  march  we  came  upon  a  desert- 
ed rebel  cavalry  camp,  which  had  been  abandoned  in 
such  a  hurry  that  the  dinner  of  the  officers  was 
found  smoking  on  the  table,  and  that  of  the  men  over 
the  fires,  both  untouched. 

The  marching  was  heavy  in  the  extreme.  The 
rain  had  so  moistened  the  clayey  soil  that  it  stuck  to 
our  feet  like  so  much  tar,  greatly  impeding  the  pro- 
gress of  the  men.  Accompanying  our  expedition 
was  the  same  six  howitzer  battery  that  formed  our  only 
artillery  force  at  Roanoke.  The  crews  of  these  guns 
found  great  difficulty  in  getting  their  pieces  through 
the  mud,  the  small  wheels  becoming  completely  clog- 
ged with  the  stiff  clay,  and  the  aid  of  details  from 
the  infantry  to  pull  on  the  drag  ropes  was  frequent- 
ly necessary. 


36  A   COUNTRY   BOY'S 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  we  came  upon 
an  unoccupied  line  of  breast-works,  over  a  mile  in 
length,  situated  in  a  clearing,  having  quite  an  exten- 
sive battery  at  each  end  of  the  line.  No  guns  had 
been  mounted  and  the  works  were  incomplete,  the 
tracks  and  shovel  marks  seeming  to  indicate  that  the 
work  had  but  recently  been  abandoned.  Had  these 
fortifications  been  finished  and  fully  manned,  they 
undoubtedly  could  have  offered  a  very  stubborn  re- 
sistance to  our  progress. 

About  six  o'clock  a  halt  was  ordered,  and  the  bat- 
talion turned  into  the  woods  at  the  right  of  the  road 
and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  We  were  now,  as  we 
afterward  found,  about  a  mile  from  the  enemy's 
line,  and  we  were  wet  to  the  skin  by  the  drizzling 
rain,  which  had  been  falling  all  the  afternoon.  With 
the  exception  of  the  mud,  instead  of  which  here  was 
moss  and  half- decayed  leaves,  our  position  was  al- 
most as  disagreeable  as  during  the  night  before  the 
battle  of  Roanoke.  We  were  an  uncomfortable  set, 
but  the  most  thoroughly  uncomfortable  of  all,  seemed 
to  be  Mrs.  Kady  Brownell.  She  had  started  on  the 
march  with  a  pair  of  ladies'  ordinary  walking  shoes, 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  37 

but  as  these  soon  became  saturated  with  water,  one 
of  the  soldiers  gave  her  a  pair  of  men's  calf-skin 
boots  of  a  small  size',  which  he  took  from  a  house  on 
the  line  of  our  march.  These  she  put  on,  but  of 
course  they  soon  became  wet  through  also,  and  any- 
one who  has  ever  tried  the  experiment  of  marching 
in  wet  calf-skin  leg  boots,  can  readily  imagine  the 
blistered  condition  of  her  feet  at  night.  As  she  sat 
with  her  back  against  a  tree,  weeping  with  her  head 
on  her  husband's  shoulder,  I  imagine  she  was 
sighing  for  the  flesh  pots  of  Camp  Sprague,  and 
thinking  like  the  rest  of  us,  that  there  must  have 
been  some  mistake  about  the  wording  of  those  re- 
cruiting posters,  which  said  "  No  Hard  Marching  !" 

"With  feeble  attempts  to  forget  our  wetness  and 
fatigue  the  night  wore  away,  and  by  seven  in  the 
morning  we  were  moving  to  the  front  again.  Be- 
fore starting,  we  were  cautioned  to  pick  out  the  nip- 
ples of  our  rifles  and  fresh  cap  them,  a  wise  precau- 
tion, and  even  with  this,  many  of  the  pieces  missed 
fire  on  account  of  the  dampness. 

The  First  Brigade  had  the  advance,  followed  by 
our  own,  with  Reno's  Brigade  on  the  left,  and  the 


38  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

line  of  battle  was  subsequently  formed  in  the  same 
order,  from  right  to  left.  The  Twenty-fourth  Mas- 
sachusetts, Colonel  Stevenson,  had  the  extreme  right 
and  Colonel  J.  F.  Hartranft's  Fifty-first  Pennsylvania 
the  extreme  left.  Hardly  had  we  proceeded  half  a 
mile,  when  our  ears  were  saluted  by  the  "  crack," 
"  crack,"  of  the  skirmishers,  and  soon  the  volleys 
and  file  firing  of  the  regiments  of  the  First  Brigade 
told  us  that  the  battle  had  begun.  Almost  immedi- 
ately we  received  the  order,  "Double  quick,  march  !" 
and  following  the  road  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
further,  we  turned  into  a  clearing  to  the  left,  and 
then  obliquely  to  the  front,  and  passing  through  a 
thin  fringe  of  woods,  came  suddenty  upon  the  battle- 
field, and  formed  "  on  the  right  by  file  into  line." 
Almost  immediately  we  were  ordered  to  commence 
firing  by  file. 

Our  position  was  about  in  the  centre  of  the  Union 
line  of  battle.  The  enemy's  line  of  breast-works 
and  batteries  were  continuous  from  the  river  on 
their  left  to  the  railroad  on  their  right,  while  beyond 
the  railroad  were  a  number  of  works,  small  lunettes, 
with  a  line  of  rifle  pits  connecting  them. 


FIRST    THREE    MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  39 

We  were  firing  perhaps  half  an  hour,  although  it 
did  not  seem  a  quarter  of  that  time,  when  a  rumor 
came  to  us  that  the  Twenty-first  Massachusetts  had 
made  a  charge  and  succeeded  in  getting  inside  the 
rebel  works,  but  had  been  driven  out  again,  the  ene- 
my rallying  as  soon  as  they  found  the  Twenty-first 
unsupported.  As  the  morning  was  cloudy  and  damp, 
with  no  wind,  the  smoke  of  the  firing  had  long  be- 
fore this  become  so  thick  that  we  could  see  nothing 
to  the  right  or  left,  not  even  the  enemy's  works  in 
our  immediate  front.  All  at  once,  we  received  or- 
ders to  cease  firing,  and  we  noticed  the  Fourth 
Ehode  Island  marching  by  the  right  flank  to  our  left 
and  rear.  As  soon  as  they  had  passed,  we  faced  to 
the  right,  counter-marched  and  followed  them. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  celebrated  charge 
which  decided  the  fate  of  the  day.  As  is  now  a  mat- 
ter of  history,  the  movement  was  ordered  by  Colo- 
nel Rodman  of  the  Fourth,  upon  his  own  responsibil- 
ity, through  information  given  him  by  Colonel  Clark 
of  the  Twenty-first  Massachusetts,  and  with  the  advice 
of  Lieutenant  Lydig  of  General  Parke's  staff,  Colo- 
nel Rodman  being  unable  to  communicate  with  the 


40  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

General  in  the  confusion  of  the  battle.  It  was  a 
most  fortunate  decision  for  Colonel  Rodman,  and 
gained  him  his  promotion  to  the  position  of  Briga- 
dier General.  Who  gave  the  orders  to  the  Fifth  I 
do  not  know,  but  I  have  an  idea  that  Lieutenant  Ly- 
dig  may  have  assumed  to  give  the  order  to  Major 
Wright  as  coming  from  General  Parke.  The  charge 
was  made  some  distance  over  stumps  and  fallen  trees 
and  into  swamp  holes,  till  we  struck  the  railroad  track, 
which  we  followed  through  a  gap  necessarily  left  in 
the  line  of  works,  into  the  enemy's  lines.  About  a 
year  later  I  visited  the  battle-field,  and  traced  with 
amazement  our  movements  on  the  day  of  the  fight- 
It  seemed  impossible  that  soldiers,  loaded  down  as 
we  were,  could  ever  have  leaped  as  nimbly  as  we 
did,  over  the  formidable  obstacles  of  the  fallen  trees, 
which  I  have  spoken  of  and  which  in  some  cases  lay 
nearly  breast-high  across  our  path.  Yet  in  the  ex- 
citement of  the  moment  we  hardly  realized  that 
there  were  auy  obstacles  in  our  way,  and  I  presume 
most  of  the  members  of  this  society  can  recall  simi- 
lar instances  which  have  occurred  in  their  own 
experience. 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  41 

During  the  charge  up  the  railroad,  we  were  ex- 
posed to  a  severe  fire  from  the  works  on  our  right 
and  left,  and  the  greatest  loss  of  the  day  in  both  reg- 
iments occurred  here.  But  once  inside  the  lines  we 
were  in  the  enemy's  rear,  and  as  the  head  of  our 
column  entered  the  gap  the  rebels  abandoned  their 
works  and  fled.  The  Fourth  immediately  swept 
down  the  line  of  works  to  the  right,  towards  the 
large  battery  on  the  river  bank,  while  the  Fifth 
moved  by  the  left  flank,  until  we  came  to  the  brow 
of  a  ravine  overlooking  the  smaller  batteries  to  the 
right  of  the  railroad,  which  I  have  previously  indi- 
cated. These  the  enemy  had  not  yet  abandoned, 
and  his  troops  which  had  fled  from  the  main  works 
before  us,  halted  here  and  made  another  stand.  On 
the  brow  of  this  ravine  we  formed  line  of  battle 
and  commenced  firing,  General  Reno's  brigade  con- 
tinuing meanwhile  their  attack  in  front,  which  had 
now  lasted  an  hour  or  more.  We  were  at  this 
time  very  close  to  the  enemy.  I  recollect  we  would 
load  under  shelter  of  the  hill,  go  up  on  the  ridge  to 
deliver  our  fire,  and  then  fall  back  to  load  again. 

At  one  time  it  happened  that  Sergeant  Brownell 


42  A   COUNTRY    BOY'S 

and  myself  went  up  on  the  hill  together,  I  fired,  and 
am  not  sure  whether  he  had  done  so  or  not,  when,  as 
I  turned  to  step  back  to  the  hollow,  I  saw  him  sud- 
denly fall  to  the  ground.  For  a  moment  I  did  not 
think  of  his  being  wounded,  supposing  he  had 
tripped  over  the  vines,  which  were  somewhat  thick 
on  the  ground,  but  he  groaned  and  said,  "  They've 
hit  me,"  and  I  then  saw  that  the  blood  was  commenc- 
ing to  stain  the  leg  of  his  blue  trousers.  Dropping 
my  rifle,  I  knelt  down  and  with  my  pocket  knife  cut 
open  his  trousers  and  saw  that  the  blood  was  flowing 
freely  from  a  wound  in  the  fleshy  part  of  the  thigh. 
I  knew  that  the  thing  most  needed  was  to  stop  the 
copious  flow  of  blood  as  soon  as  possible,  so  tying 
my  handkerchief  loosely  around  the  wounded  limb, 
I  picked  up  a  small  stick  of  sufficient  strength,  and 
passing  it  under  the  handkerchief,  proceeded  to 
"  take  a  twist  "  in  it,  as  we  used  to  do  at  home,  on 
a  larger  scale,  upon  the  binding  rope  of  our  hay 
wagons.  Continuing  to  twist,  I  found  that  the  bleed- 
ing was  checked,  so  I  made  fast  one  end  of  the  stick, 
and  by  this  time  two  of  the  drum  corps  appeared 
and  by  them  he  was  carried  to  the  surgeon,  who  had 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  43 

established  himself  some  distance  in  the  rear.  I 
will  only  add  that  Brownell  afterward  recovered 
sufficiently  to  be  discharged  from  the  service,  in 
time  became  able  to  walk  quite  well,  and  I  believe 
is  now  living  in  New  York  with  his  wife.  I  have 
mentioned  this  incident  because  it  was  the  first  time 
I  saw  a  man  struck  in  action.  Of  course,  at  Roa- 
noke, I  had  seen  many  men  after  they  were  wounded, 
and  in  the  charge  up  the  railroad  we  had  lost  several 
from  my  own  company,  yet  I  did  not  happen  to  see 
them  fall,  and  did  not  know  until  afterward  that  any 
were  missing. 

About  the  time  Brownell  was  carried  to  the  rear 
we  received  the  order  to  cease  firing,  and  we  noticed 
that  General  Reno's  brigade,  becoming  tired  of  stand- 
ing the  severe  fire  they  were  receiving,  were  charg- 
ing the  enemy's  works.  Some  of  our  officers  and  men, 
seeing  our  opportunity,  were  anxious  to  charge  also, 
and  from  our  position  I  think  we  could  have  reached 
the  works  before  the  brigade  in  front,  but  no  orders 
were  given  us,  and  in  a  few  moments  more  we  saw 
the  colors  of  the  Fifty-first  Pennsylvania  in  the  rebel 
works.     Previous  to  this  the   Fourth  Rhode  Island, 


44  A    COUNTRY   BOY'S 

having  as  I  stated  gone  to  the  right,  had  charged  the 
flank  of  Fort  Thompson,  the  large  river  battery,  si- 
multaneously with  the  Twenty-fourth  Massachusetts 
and  the  remainder  of  the  First  Brigade,  from  the 
front,  and  the  whole  line  of  works  was  now  in  our 
hands. 

This  decided  the  possession  of  the  city  of  New- 
bern  and  gave  us  forty-six  heavy  guns,  three  six-gun 
light  batteries,  three  thousand  small  arms,  a  large 
quantity  of  stores,  and  three  hundred  prisoners. 
This  small  number  of  prisoners  is  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  six  thousand  Confederates 
engaged  escaped  upon  the  railroad  trains,  which 
were  in  waiting  and  all  fired  up  ready  for  a 
start.  Escaping  across  the  Neuse  river,  they 
burned  the  long  railroad  bridge  behind  them,  and 
continued  their  flight  to  the  interior  of  the  State. 
It  is  said  that  our  gun-boats  were  in  easy  range  of 
the  trains  which  passed  over  the  bridge,  but  as  one 
of  the  cars  displayed  an  American  flag  they  sup- 
posed it  to  be  our  own  victorious  troops  entering 
Newbern,  otherwise  they  would  have  attempted  by 
shelling  to  have  disabled  and  stopped  the  train. 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS    IN    THE   ARMY.  45 

Company  A  lost  five  men  in  the  battle  of  New- 
bern.  The  loss  of  the  other  companies  of  our  bat- 
talion, I  am  unable  to  state.  Among  the  killed  of 
Company  D,  however,  was  First  Lieutenant  Henry 
R.  Pierce,  who  was  the  only  commissioned  officer 
struck  during  the  engagement.  Lieutenant  Pierce 
had  been  for  several  years  principal  of  the  Woon- 
socket  High  School,  but  had  abandoned  his  profes- 
sion and  entered  the  army  from  a  sense  of  duty. 

It  was  now  after  eleven  o'clock,  the  battle  was 
over,  and  a  short  rest  was  given  to  allow  the  men  to 
eat  the  noon'meal,  which  you  may  be  sure  was  well 
relished  under  the  circumstances,  as  our  appetite  for 
breakfast  had  been  very  light.  After  an  interval  of 
about  an  hour,  the  march  was  resumed  up  the  rail- 
road track  toward  Newbern,  now  about  four  miles 
distant. 

Within  a  mile  of  the  city  the  Fifth  left  the  road, 
and  turning  to  the  right  toward  the  river  bank, 
found  quarters  in  a  deserted  rebel  camp.  This  had 
been  hastily  abandoned,  and  an  effort  made  to  burn 
the  tents,  which  from  the  hurried  manner  in  which 
it  had  been  attempted  was  only  partially  successful. 


46  A   COUNTRY   BOY'S 

About  one-third  of  the  tents  were  destroyed,  but 
enough  were  left  to  furnish  accommodation  for  all 
our  men,  which  accommodation  was  thoroughly  ap- 
preciated. 

This  camp  was  christened  "  Camp  Pierce,"  in  hon- 
or of  Lieutenant  Pierce  mentioned  above  as  one  of 
the  killed  in  the  battle.  Among  the  stores  which  we 
found  were  several  barrels  of  burnt  rye,  used  by  the 
Confederates  as  a  substitute  for  coffee,  which  latter 
they  were  unable  to  obtain.  We  tried  some  of  it, 
but  did  not  like  it  as  well  as  the  genuine  article. 
Probably  an  "  extract  of  rye  "  obtained  by  a  differ- 
ent process  would  have  given  better  satisfaction. 

The  First  and  Second  Brigades  were  assigned 
quarters  in  and  around  Newbern,  and  in  about  a 
week  (he  Third  proceeded  to  attempt  the  reduction 
of  Fort  Macon,  near  Beaufort,  forty  miles  distant  by 
rail. 

In  the  siege  of  Fort  Macon  the  Fifth  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part,  and  my  original  intention  was  to  in- 
clude these  operations  in  this  paper,  as  well  as  the 
Tarboro  and  Goldsboro  expeditions,  including  the 
battles  of  Rahls  Mills,  Kinston,  Whitehall  and  Golds- 


FIRST   THREE   MONTHS   IN   THE   ARMY.  47 

boro,  thus  covering  the  first  year's  service  of  the  reg- 
iment. But  my  paper  is  already  beyond  the  proper 
length  for  a  sketch  of  this  nature,  and  I  must  leave 
those  matters  till  another  time,  or  better  still,  for 
another  writer,  hoping  that  this  imperfect  sketch, 
while  not  attempting  to  give  a  full  or  connected 
history  of  the  battalion  even  as  far  as  it  has  gone, 
may  have  brought  out  some  points  not  before  famil- 
iar to  the  members  of  our  society. 


